Support of Research— General Information

Eligibility

UWFA Collective Agreement, Regular Academic Staff (RAS)

The Research Committee will consider funding requests in support of research from eligible University of Winnipeg Faculty Association (UWFA) Members, as defined by the Collective Agreement, RAS, including the following: Faculty/Counselor members; Librarian members; and Instructor or Coach members whose letters of employment include a research obligation.

Pre-PhD Applicants

UWFA Members without a PhD are eligible for funding by the Research Committee as per the UWFA Collective Agreement, RAS. Research proposals will be evaluated with all others and judged on qualitative grounds. The Research Committee will not support research that is undertaken in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a higher degree. This includes research in direct fulfillment of degree requirements or preliminary work for such research.

Special Cases

There are some special cases for which eligibility may include:

› UWFA Members who do not have a contractual research obligation.

› Tenured Faculty without a research obligation in their contract.

› Part-time teaching Faculty appointed on a continuing basis.

› Faculty with shared appointments with the University of Manitoba (minimum 50% appointment at UW), and others as determined by the Research Committee.

› Others on a case-by-case basis, as decided by the Research Committee.

› Academic administrators and Members of UWFA excluded from UWFA, by virtue of their appointment, by election to the Board of Regents.

Other

The following are eligible for funding support on a non-priority basis:

› Former Faculty holding an emeritus position.

› Senior Scholars (see the University’s policy).

Ineligibility

› Teaching Faculty who are not UWFA RAS Members.

› Applicants who cease to be employees of The University of Winnipeg during the tenure of the grant.

Funding Priorities

In approving research proposals, the Research Committee will pursue the following goals, in order of priority:

1. To support applications that exhibit excellence.

2. To support initial requests from junior faculty whose research activities are developing and becoming established, in order that they may obtain support from external granting agencies.

3. To support scholars whose applications have ranked highly in competitions conducted by major national granting councils but who have not been funded because there were insufficient funds available. The purpose of these grants is to enhance a scholar’s chances of subsequently obtaining external funding.

4. To support high quality research for which other funding sources are not available due to either the project’s small scale or stage of development.

5. To support established projects in conjunction with external support or during periods when external support has been withdrawn for reasons unrelated to the merit of the project or the researcher’s conduct.

6. To assist in the fulfillment of The University of Winnipeg’s commitment to support major/ institutional research projects and research chairs such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs, and other prestigious awards.

Ranking Applications

The Committee recognizes that research direction varies among disciplines and will judge requests based on the excellence of the proposed research and the need for project funding.

In evaluating all requests for support, the Research Committee will consider only the information provided in the application form, evidence of past achievement contained in its records, and the judgment of its members.

It is, in part, through the research proposal that applicants demonstrate their capacity to conduct the proposed research. Applicants are expected to provide a logical narrative which demonstrates familiarity with the subject matter, and a carefully formulated research plan. The Research Committee must make its decision based on what is presented in the application.

All applications must be complete. The purpose of the Departmental and Chair reviews for the Major Research Grant is not only to seek approval but also to ensure the application is complete. If the application is incomplete upon final submission, it will not be considered for funding by the Research Committee.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Research

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) principles are progressively emerging as a significant lens through which to plan and implement research for more effective impact and to begin addressing the systemic barriers faced by equity-deserving groups (e.g., people from racialized groups/visible minorities, 2SLGBTQ+ people, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, women, etc.). Incorporation of these principles is increasingly mandatory in Tri-Agency grant applications, therefore, researchers at The University of Winnipeg are encouraged to consider EDI in their research design (e.g., literature review, methods, knowledge mobilization, etc.) and practice (training/mentorship, team composition, governance, etc.) when applying for external research grants. EDI requirements will also soon be added to internal grant opportunities.